Denver — Anne Sappenfield, the director of the Wisconsin Legislative Council, was elected to the position of staff chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) at the 2022 Legislative Summit in Denver. NCSL, a bipartisan organization, serves the nation’s 7,383 legislators and more than 30,000 legislative staff.
“I am excited and honored to serve as staff chair for NCSL,” Sappenfield said. “NCSL has been a huge factor in my development as a legislative staffer—improving my breadth of knowledge, level of professionalism and leadership skills. I know the value of strong legislative staff for my agency, my state and across the country. I look forward to working with my colleagues in other states and territories and NCSL to continue to support and acknowledge the important work we all do.”
NCSL is the only national organization providing training, professional growth opportunities and information sharing for legislative staff. The organization has nine professional staff associations and various staff networks that sponsor meetings, training opportunities and publications. Legislative staffers are also eligible to join NCSL’s standing committees, which address state policy issues and state-federal issues.
Sappenfield becomes one of seven officers—four legislators and three legislative staffers—on NCSL’s 63-member Executive Committee, which is elected yearly and includes legislators and staff.
Sappenfield has worked for the Wisconsin Legislature for 26 years, serving in a variety of roles. She has served as staff chair of NCSL’s overall standing committees and as staff chair of the standing committee on human services (which later merged with the committee on health). She is a past chair of the Research, Editorial, Legal and Committee Staff association (RELACS), one of NCSL’s professional staff associations, and has twice served on NCSL’s Executive Committee, first from 2011-14 and again starting in 2020.
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.